Orthopedic shoe construction



United States Patent 3,470,879 ORTHOPEDIC SHOE CONSTRUCTION Theodore J.Meiller, Bryan, Tex., assignor to Meiller Research, Inc., Drawer CB,College Station, Tex., a corporation of Texas Filed Jan. 7, 1966, Ser.No. 519,342 Int. Cl. A4311 7/24 U.S. Cl. 128-583 3 Claims ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE An orthopedic shoe construction having an orthopedic shoeelement to correct toe-in or toe-out. The shoe element, either a heel orsole, or both, is provided with a plurality of resilient, parallel,spaced ribs, arranged at an acute angle with respect to the longitudinalaxis of the element and canted towards one end of that axis. Upon groundengagement of the ribs under the weight of the shoe wearer, the elementand shoe will shift laterally to correct toe-in or toe-out, dependingupon the direction the ribs are slanted. If the ribs are terminated inspaced relation from an edge of the element, ankle roll is alsocontrolled.

This invention relates to an orthopedic shoe construction, and morespecifically, an orthopedic shoe construction having an orthopedic shoeelement for correcting various types of foot deformities.

The present invention has as an object the provision of an orthopedicshoe element of simple construction, which is specifically designed tocorrect such abnormal foot conditions as toe-in, toe-out, eversion(ankle roll outwards), inversion (ankle roll inwards), or a combinationof any of these conditions.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an orthopedic shoeelement of the construction indicated which can take the form of eithera shoe heel, shoe sole, or combination of a heel and sole, and thus beeasily secured to a standard shoe or shoe upper.

Abnormal foot deformities of the type mentioned are generally correctedin infancy and childhood by having the child wear a special shoeprovided with either a sole or heel built up with a leather wedge placedin a desired location and/or by foot clamps fastened to the shoe so asto turn the foot of the child. The shoes are worn by the child duringsleeping hours, and due to the turning action provided over an extendedperiod of time, the young bones tend to return to a normal, straightenedposition.

This invention provides a more effective and gentle straighteningdevice, by utilizing a corrective walking shoe sole and/or heel to bringabout a change in the mechanics of the foot.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description and claims, and accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded perspective view of the orthopedic shoeconstruction of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view of a pair of orthopedic shoes of thepresent invention used to correct toeout deformities;

FIGURE 3 is a bottom plan view of a pair of orthopedic shoes of thepresent invention used to correct toe-in deformities;

FIGURE 4 is an end view in elevation of a pair of orthopedic shoes ofthe present invention having a pair of inversion (ankle roll inwards)correcting heels;

FIGURE 5 is an end view in elevation of a pair of orthopedic shoes ofthe present invention having a pair of eversion (ankle roll outwards)correcting heels;

FIGURE 6 is a bottom plan view of a pair of orthopedic shoes of thepresent invention supplied with both inversion heels and soles;

FIGURE 7 is a bottom plan view of a pair of orthopedic shoes of thepresent invention supplied with both eversion heels and soles;

FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the planeindicated by the line 8--8 of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 9 is a view similar to FIGURE 8, but illustrating the manner inwhich the orthopedic shoe construction of the present invention correctsone of the foot abnormalities discussed above.

.Referring now to the drawing in detail, wherein like numerals indicatelike parts throughout the several views, FIGURE 1 illustrates anorthopedic shoe construction generally designated by the numeral 10.

The shoe construction 10 includes a standard shoe 12 having an ordinaryheel and sole. The shoe construction 10 could include a shoe upper inlieu of the standard shoe 12. The upper could then be provided with anorthopedic sole or heel in accordance with the instant invention, aswill be made clear hereinafter. Wherever the word shoe appearsthroughout the following specification and claims, it should beunderstood to mean a shoe with or without a heel and sole.

The shoe construction is provided with an orthopedic sole 14 and/or heel16. Since in most shoes, the heel portion is the first to make groundcontact, the orthopedic shoes described herein are preferably providedwith orthopedic heels alone and ordinary soles. However, to insureproper action, both heel and sole could be of orthopedic construction,and the invention is so illustrated.

FIGURES 1 and 2 illustrate an orthopedic heel and sole which arespecifically adapted to correct toe-out foot deformities. As shown infull lines in FIGURE 2, the feet of the shoe wearer are normallydivergent. It is desired to correct this abnormality by causing the feetto assume the positions shown in phantom lines in FIG- URE 2.

In order to accomplish this result, the toe-in sole 14 and heel 16 forcorrecting toe-out, include a first side 18 and a second opposed side20. The first side 18 of the sole 14 and heel 16 is substantially flatfor flush securement to the sole 26 and heel 28 of the standard shoe 12.

The opposed second side 20 of the sole 14 and heel 16 is provided with aseries of resilient, substantially parallel ribs 22, spaced by valleys24. The orthopedic heels and soles are of one-piece construction and aremade of resilient material such as rubber, plastic, etc.

The ribs 22 are arranged to extend at an acute angle with respect to thelongitudinal axis of the sole 14, heel 16, and shoe 12. This angle isapproximately 38 degrees but is subject to variation in accordance withthe degree of correction necessary. As shown in FIGURE 8, the ribs 22are also inclined or canted towards the rear end of the heel, sole, andshoe. The spacing between any two of the ribs 22 is greater than theheight of any one of said ribs so that when the weight of the shoewearer is applied to the heel and/or sole element, the canted andslanted ribs 22 will fold into adjacent valleys 24 (as shown in FIG- URE9) causing the heel and/ or sole, as well as the shoe, to shiftlaterally and f-orvvardly about the ground engaging points A of saidribs. This causes the longitudinal axis of the heel, sole, and shoe toundergo an angular shift, or turn, with respect to its initial position,because in walking the heel shifts and stops before the sole strikes theground resulting in greater shifting of the toe. The direction ofangular and lateral shifting and turning depends upon the particulardirection of slant of the ribs with respect to the longitudinal axis ofthe particular heel and/ or sole element.

As shown in FIGURE 2, in order to correct a toe- I out condition, theribs 22 on the soles 14 and heels 16 should form an acute angle with thelongitudinal axis of these elements in the second quadrant for the rightshoe R as shown at a, and first quadrant for the left shoe L as shown atb. By reversing the direction of slant of the ribs 22 with respect tothe longitudinal axis, as in FIGURE 3, wherein the sole 15 and heel 17of the right shoe R has its ribs forming an acute angle with itslongitudinal axis in the first quadrant as shown at c and wherein theacute angle is formed in the second quadrant on the left shoe L as shownat d, a toe-in condition can be corrected. The angular shift of theshoes in FIGURE 3 is opposite to that in FIGURE 2, as shown in phantomlines.

FIGURES and 7 illustrate a pair of slightly modified orthopedic shoes36. The shoes 36 are used to correct a condition known as inversion orankle roll inwards. In this abnormality, an inner part of each foot isturned inwardly to engage the ground, whereas an outer portion remainsoff the ground.

In order to correct the inversion condition, an eversion heel 38 and/oreversion sole 36 is provided and secured to the bottom of each shoe inthe pair 36. As shown in FIGURE 5 and 7 the ribs 22 terminate in spacedrelation to the inner lateral edges of the heels and soles 38 and 36.Pressure on the resilient heels and soles 38 and 40 Will cause the ankleof each foot to rotate outwardly due to the resilient ribs 22 deformingunder the Weight of wearer, along with correcting for toe-in as well, ifany is present. By reversing the slant of the ribs 22 with respect tothe longitudinal axis in the shoe pair 36 inversion as Well as toe-outcan be corrected.

FIGURES 4 and 6 illustrate a modified pair of shoes 30 which can be usedto correct eversion or ankle roll outwardly. The shoes 30 include anorthopedic heel 32 and/ or sole 34 whose ribs 22 terminate in spacedrelation to the outer lateral edges of the heels 32 and sole 34. Weightapplied to the heel 32 and sole 34 will cause the ankle of the wearer toroll inwardly correcting for ankle roll out or eversion condition. Thisis due to the resilient ribs 22 deforming under the weight of the shoewearer. In addition, the slant of the rib 22 depicted in FIGURE 6 willcorrect for any toe-out condition present, but it should be understoodthat by reversing the slant of the ribs with respect to the longitudinalaxis eversion and toein could be corrected by the shoes 30.

If toe-in or toe-out is not present, but only inversion or eversion, theshoes 30 or 36 could be formed with ribs 22 which are verticallyperpendicular to the second 4' side 20 of the heel and sole andterminate spaced from their outer or inner lateral edges.

While specific embodiments of my invention have been disclosed in theforegoing description, it Will be understood that other variousmodifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitations beplaced on the invention except as defined by the scope of the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. An orthopedic shoe element adapted to be secured to the bottom of ashoe, said element comprising first and second opposed sides, said firstside being substantially flat and said second side including means forturning said element and an attached shoe in an angular directionrelative to their respective longitudinal axes in response to groundengagement of said shoe under the weight of the shoe wearer, saidturning means including a plurality of resilient, substantiallyparallel, spaced ribs arranged at an acute angle with respect to thelongitudinal axis of said element, each of said ribs extending in asubstantially straight line over a major portion of the Width of saidelement and projecting from said second side at an angle therewithcanted toward one end of the longitudinal axis of said element.

2. An orthopedic shoe element in accordance with claim 1, wherein thespacing between any two of said ribs is greater than the height of anyone of said ribs.

3. An orthopedic shoe element in accordance with claim 1, wherein saidribs start at one lateral edge and terminate in spaced relation to theother lateral edge of said element.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 11,694 9/1898 Kennedy 128-5882,097,759 11/1937 Ehrlich 128-613 2,616,190 6/1952 Darby 128-5852,847,769 8/ 1958 Schlesinger 128-585 1,607,375 11/1926 Whipple 36-32 X2,928,192 3/1960 Green 36-32 2,941,316 6/1960 Hack 36-32 X FOREIGNPATENTS 27,120 12/ 1898 Great Britain. 544,568 2/1956 Belgium.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner JOHN D. YASKO, Assistant Examiner

